Justinian: Greatest Byzantine Emperor?

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Eastern Roman Emperor from 527 to 565, Justinian was a ruler who infused even the most mundane tasks with spiritual and religious significance. The challenges he faced - climate change, battles over culture and identity, the first recorded global pandemic - and many of the solutions he found to address them still resonate with us today. His legacy remains all around us, in his massive building programme, in our legal systems, and in his fundamental contribution to both the formation of Christendom and the emergence of Islam.

In this episode, Matt Lewis talks to Peter Sarris, author of Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint, about a man who, from the humblest beginnings, rose to become ruler of much of the known world achieving an almost god-like status.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	If you're enjoying all the content in this episode and the rest of the
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0:59.8	Welcome to this episode of Gone Medieval.
1:01.3	I'm Matt Lewis.
1:02.4	Is he an ancient figure or a medieval one or
1:05.3	is he somewhere in between? Maybe you've heard of the Justinian plague, perhaps you've heard
1:09.8	Edward I of England referred to as the English Justinian.
1:13.2	If you're anything like me though, that might have been the extent of your knowledge of this
1:17.0	Emperor, but one man is on a mission to correct that.
1:20.0	Peter Saris is professor of late antiqueique, Medieval and Byzantine Studies at Trinity College, Cambridge.
1:26.5	His new book, Justinian, explores the life and legacy of this incredible man.
	...

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